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Tres Leches y Una Surpresa

¡Unas Carnitas y Un Cumpleaños!December 2010

That was the theme of a late December night at the lovely home of Dana. She was busy surprising Laura Jean for her birthday and her novio was busy whipping up his famous carnitas. I won’t dispel any of his secrets, though I have heard a few of them. I came bearing a cake, a carpenter and a dogface because what’s a birthday party without un pastel, un bigote and a trusty old perro?

In keeping with the carnitas theme, I added tropical flavors to a traditional tres leches cake and some paper piñatas for effect. I almost made a huge mistake by letting the lovely little ballerina have a slice of cake, but silly Quelcy, this cake is only for adults.

Luckily the little candle-blowing assistant was able to have a slice of a different cake. Truly sorry little one!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour a 13 by 9-inch glass pan and set aside.

Whisk together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary.

Add the eggs, one at a time and mix to thoroughly combine.

Add the vanilla extract and rum. Combine well.

Add the flour mixture to the batter in three batches and mix just until combined.

Shred the mango chunks, lime zest and lime fruit in a food processor. Stir the fruit mixture into the batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly (this will appear to be a very small amount of batter).

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.

Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the Glaze

Whisk together the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, the half-and-half and rum in a medium bowl.

Pour the mixture over the cake.

Refrigerate the cake overnight.

For the Topping

Place the heavy cream, agave and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve

Bring to surprise birthday dinner and remember not to serve to small children!

Eat some carnitas, tacos and fixins first.

The carpenter using kitchen tools?!?! I have rarely seen this!

Salad or cake?

Well folks, we have a winner and a very happy birthday! The people have spoken with their forks…

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About Me!

I'm the recipe developer, stylist, photographer and crazy dog lady behind With The Grains. I believe there's magic in baking bread, whipping cream and setting the table a little differently each time. I believe true health begins in the soil, is nurtured organically and should arrive at our tables with great care. Whether you're vegan, gluten-free or eat meat, you'll find a recipe here for you, so I hope you will join me in this conversation.

“The Rustbelt Farmer”

He has a name, but around here, I simply refer to him as “The Rustbelt Farmer.” I met him just as his urban farm dreams were taking shape, and I fell head over dirty boots for him. When I'm not in the kitchen or behind a camera, I try to be digging in the dirt alongside him. He inspires many a recipe.

The Kitchen Assistant / The Farmpaw

Never one to let a fallen crumb go to waste, Julep is always close to the kitchen action. When she's not sniffing around the photo sets, she is working overtime to keep the groundhogs from eating all the Urban Farmer's produce.